by Miakemi » Tue Jan 29, 2013 4:54 pm
Rat Name:
Clyde
(He's named after the person who discovered Pluto.)
Gender:
Male
Personality:
Clyde hates to be alone. He lived with other young rats throughout his entire life and was sociable enough to be on speaking terms with every rat he knew. It was only when they grew bigger and his dwarfism became more obvious that he began having problems with being ignored, teased, or bullied for his size. He can't help but want to be part of the group, but he tends to get self-conscious about all the name calling. This self-consciousness has caused him to develop a need to prove himself to the other rats that he once considered friends, and he gets really frustrated when he can't do something non-dwarf rats can do. He can be very reckless when trying to prove himself to the point of doing things the other rats would not do.
Clyde has a tendency to snap at other rats when he's frustrated, but he is wary of starting fights because of his size disadvantage. He doubts he could beat anyone in a fight and will easily back down if a fight is inevitable. He usually calms down and apologizes once he's no longer frustrated, but he will hold a grudge against those who consistently offend him. However, these grudges don't amount to much more than avoiding them and the silent treatment. On another note, he enjoys play fighting and will not back down if he knows it's all in good fun.
Clyde doesn't like humans much. They're much bigger than him and he can't understand their strange language, making him worry about their intent. He typically avoids them as much as possible in favor of small hiding spots until they leave. He had a bad run in with a human who tried to rub away his frost. He still doesn't know what their intent was, but it ruined his view of humans.
Clyde loves apple slices and strawberries. As much as he avoids humans, these two foods (in large quantities) can tempt him and almost override his caution towards humans. If any human wanted to befriend him, this would be the easiest and potentially most successful way to try.
He also likes climbing and high places. He feels taller when he is on a higher area than the other rats and it gives him a small break from his self-concious tendencies. Unfortunately, he has a little bit of trouble getting down (like cats trying to climb down from trees) and has to think about his route down before he climbs so he doesn't embarrass himself.
Clyde absolutely hates feeling inferior to the other rats and embarrassing himself when failing to do something the other rats can do. He pushes himself to the limit to prove he's just as good as his peers, but there are just times he has to distance himself from others and sulk in an effort to keep himself from snapping at them.
He also hates the color red, though he can't remember what caused him to dislike it so much. He just finds the color ugly and a little infuriating. He might have been wronged by a human or rat that wore/was primarily red, but he honestly can't remember. If he was wronged, it's likely he either suppressed it from his memory or it happened when he was too young to remember anything other than the color. As a result, rats with red eyes freak him out.
Quirks:
Clyde is very clumsy when grooming himself. He often gets distracted and ends up licking the frosty areas of his fur and getting his tongue stuck. It's not uncommon to see him walking around using three limbs while his fourth limb is held up near his tongue as he tries to hide the fact it's stuck. He can usually get it unstuck on his own, but sometimes he needs someone else to give it a good yank for him.
Sometimes when he is bored, Clyde will use his tail as a lure and try to catch it. It's not a hard game considering he knows where the tail is going to be, but it keeps him distracted when he's alone or when he needs something to do.
Clyde constantly shivers and occasionally sneezes like he has a cold, but he is perfectly healthy. His frosty fur doesn't bother him and he has a good tolerance to the cold, but he just can't keep himself from shivering.
Story:
Clyde glared at the other rat as he was assaulted by the words, "A mouse like you could never beat me." The phrase burned at his fur, a constant reminder that he was different from the other rats. His eyes traveled to the object that had started the teasing. It was a large vertical wooden structure with diamond-shaped holes all the way up. Ivy-like plants snaked their way through some of these holes as they grew towards the light. He had mentioned that he would enjoy climbing to the top of the structure, which in turn started a discussion about who could get to the top first, devolving into petty name calling from his opponent.
He studied the ivy on the wood, unsure of whether or not he'd have trouble getting back down. Unfortunately, he couldn't back down from this challenge. It would only confirm that he was more mouse than rat. He had to prove them wrong. The ivy looked stable enough to climb down from. He hoped... "Alright, how about we race? I'll even let you use the ivy to climb," he said. He was not planning to use any help from the plant, unlike other rats. He needed to go above and beyond what the other rats would do or no one would take him seriously.
His opponent looked surprised for a moment, obviously not expecting such a response from a dwarf rat. Clyde watched him eye the wooden structure nervously for a moment before he finally he nodded and answered, "Alright, get ready to loose, mouse."
Clyde let out a short hiss at being called a mouse for a second time. It seemed like he would never earn their respect no matter if he was just as good as them or not. They lined up in front of the structure, Clyde smiling in determination. By now, a few of the other resident rats had gathered wanting to know. Good. They'll all see me win, Clyde thought as he tensed his muscles ready for the race to start while his body shivered almost constantly both from anticipation and its own natural tendency. "Ready?" Clyde asked. The other rat nodded. "Go!"
Both rats scrambled up the structure, Clyde using the bare wood and his opponent using the ivy. Clyde forced himself to reach for each hole, having to stretch to reach each foothold. He could already see his opponent inching ahead of him, causing him to work even harder. He had to win, and that thought was the only thing that pushed him forward to the point where he wasn't even watching his opponent anymore. Instead, the only thing he cared about was the next hole in his upward climb. He only vaguely noticed as hi passed his opponent. He was almost there...
Unfortunately, luck was not on his side. Just as he was a few holes from the top, Clyde felt one of his inevitable sneezes coming. There was no way to hold it, and he was unable to stop his climb as the sneeze forced its way from his body. He scrambled for a foothold as the sneeze sent him backwards and almost fell from the wood. He was fortunate to pull himself up into one of the holes, but his spirit dropped when he saw the other rat reach the top. Clyde cursed hitting a paw against the wood. Of all the times for him to sneeze... He made himself look like a mouse. Growling in disappointment, he scrunched himself onto the ledge and allowed himself to sulk. He had to do better next time.
